December 11, 2025 — A puzzling stranding drew NOAA Fisheries experts to Panama City Beach, Fla. On Nov. 21, an 11.4-foot female shortfin mako washed ashore in the early morning hours.
According to NOAA, strandings of “large pelagic species like the mako shark are relatively rare for this area,” prompting an immediate response from the Southeast Fisheries Science Center to secure the shark and conduct a full necropsy- an animal autopsy.
December 9, 2025 — There isn’t too much these days that the 20 Republicans and eight Democrats who comprise Florida’s congressional delegation agree upon, but they have united to take a stand together against a proposal to drill for oil off the state’s Gulf coast.
The delegation has joined forces in signing on to a letter sent to President Donald Trump calling for him to honor a moratorium he signed in 2020 banning drilling in the Eastern Gulf and to extend the prohibition into perpetuity to protect the military training conducted there and the state’s tourism industry.
“In 2020, you made the right decision to use ex11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Analysisecutive action to extend the moratorium on oil and gas leasing off Florida’s gulf and east coasts through 2032, recognizing the incredible value Florida’s pristine coasts have to our state’s economy, environment, and military community,” the letter states.
December 5, 2025 — A study from the University of Miami found that the installation of wind power infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico, currently referred to as the Gulf of America by the U.S. government, is unlikely to impact commercial shrimping operations.
The development of offshore wind projects in the United States has been contentious for much of the commercial fishing industry, with fishers claiming turbines in the ocean block them from accessing valued fishing grounds and disrupt the ecosystem. Wind turbines have also posed a problem for NOAA Fisheries, forcing the agency to reconsider how it conducts fisheries surveys as its traditional research vessels can’t navigate too close to the structures.
November 21, 2025 — Californians were already gearing up for battle even before the Trump administration released a draft plan on Nov. 20 that proposes a broad expansion of oil and gas drilling and lease sales along America’s coasts, including California, Alaska and west of Florida.
The Department of the Interior announced as many as 34 potential offshore lease sales across 21 of 27 existing Outer Continental Shelf planning areas, covering roughly 1.27 billion acres. That includes 21 areas off the coast of Alaska, seven in the Gulf of America and six along the Pacific coast.
The plan quickly drew opposition from state leaders and environmental groups – and support from some business organizations. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office fully opposes the plan.
November 17, 2025 — Ten people were arrested earlier this month for alleged immigration violations during a joint state and federal patrol of oyster beds in St. Bernard and Terrebonne parishes.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries reported the arrests Nov. 10 following its enforcement efforts with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard. The agencies conducted their operation Nov. 3-4.
November 17, 2025 — Louisiana’s menhaden fishery has long been defined by respect – respect for the Gulf, for science, and for the coastal communities that depend on both. This month, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission approved a Notice of Intent (NOI) to adjust nearshore buffer zones for menhaden fishing, the latest step in Louisiana’s effort to balance ecological protection with sustainable working waters – expanding protections in sensitive areas while refining limits in less fragile zones.
The adjustment follows a directive from the Commission to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) to consult with both the menhaden industry and recreational fishermen to strengthen existing rules. The resulting proposal increases the buffer zone by over 4% – from 264 to 276 square miles – enhancing protections in sensitive habitats while adjusting historically important fishing grounds, where Louisiana’s menhaden industry has fished for over 75 years.
What the Buffer Zone Adjustment Includes
The proposal expands protections in Louisiana’s most ecologically sensitive areas while restoring access in long-fished waters where new research shows limited environmental impact. The newly proposed rule would modify existing menhaden buffer zones along several parts of Louisiana’s coast:
November 10, 2025 — North Atlantic right whales have returned to their calving grounds off Georgia earlier than expected. Or at least two of them did.
Anglers videoed the two endangered whales off Hilton Head, S.C., and Savannah Wednesday afternoon, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Two right whales were also reported near Cape Lookout, N.C., on Saturday but researchers couldn’t determine if they were the same whales.
“It is possible they are the same pair that was seen off Cape Lookout on Saturday,” DNR senior wildlife biologist Jessica Thompson told The Current GA. “The sighting documentation was similar. They had video that made it clear it was two adult right whales, but not clear enough to confirm ID. There was also an unconfirmed sighting at another location in N.C. of a single adult. No others have been seen in the Southeast yet. These are the early birds.”
The state marine mammal of Georgia, North Atlantic right whales are one of the most imperiled large whales, with a population estimated last month at 384 individuals. These bus-sized mammals migrate more than 1,000 miles each fall from Canada and New England to the Southeast. The waters off Georgia, north Florida and South Carolina are considered their core calving area, but they usually arrive in late November or early December.
Thompson, leader of the agency’s work with marine mammals, called the early sighting of these two uncommon but not unheard of. It did create an urgency to “make sure boaters know right whales are back and everyone is aware of the need to be vigilant.” She also encouraged boaters to report all sightings and stay at least 500 yards from any whale seen.
November 10, 2025 — Louisiana Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and John Kennedy (R-La.) are worried about the safety of imported shrimp sold in major grocery stores nationwide.
The senators sent letters this week to the CEOs of Walmart, Kroger, and Albertsons, saying the stores continue to sell imported shrimp that could contain Cesium-137, a radioactive substance linked to cancer and other health problems
“Ensuring that American families have access to safe, quality food is essential for us to advance President Trump’s agenda to Make America Healthy Again,” the senators wrote.
Read the full article at Yahoo! News
November 7, 2025 — The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (LWFC) is moving forward with a proposal to reduce the size of buffer zones for menhaden fishing near the state’s beaches, a move praised by the industry and criticized by environmental groups.
The LWFC voted to shrink the buffer zones around Louisiana beaches to a quarter-mile, removing a prior half-mile buffer zone that was put in place in 2024. The decision followed a clash between the menhaden fishing industry and environmentalists in 2023 after net spills lead to hundreds of thousands of dead fish washing up on shore.
November 7, 2025 — The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission on Thursday advanced a plan to decrease the size of a no-fishing zone after members of the commercial menhaden fishing industry complained that guidelines put in place last year had cut their haul by up to 25 percent.
The panel last year had restricted menhaden boats to areas at least a half-mile offshore at points west of the Mississippi River. At its meeting Thursday, members voted 4-3 to approve a notice of intent to decrease the buffer zone to a quarter-mile in some areas, but increase it in other areas deemed more sensitive.
Hundreds of recreational anglers in attendance opposed the pullback. They had wanted the commission to push the buffer zone out to a mile offshore.